When a peripheral nerve is severed, the axon segments distal to the injury (i.e. furthest away from the spinal cord) die off in a process called Wallerian degeneration. Current treatment options, such as tension-free primary end-to-end neurorrhaphy and end-to-side (ETS) neurorrhaphy, each suffer from disadvantages. When a nerve is repaired using end-to-end neurorrhaphy, the axons in the proximal segment (closest to the spinal cord) regrow into the denervated distal segment at a rate of about 1 mm per day. Until the axons regrow back into the denervated muscles, the muscles are paralyzed. For nerve injuries where the distance between the distal and proximal ends of the distal segment is great, it may take a long time for the axons to regrow into the denervated muscles. If this process takes too long, the denervated muscles may atrophy. ETS neurorrhaphy is disadvantageous, because the proximal end of the distal segment of the severed nerve must be connected to the side of a donor nerve (e.g., via an epineurial window), and as such, the proximal end of the distal segment cannot be reconnected to the distal end of the proximal segment, and the denervated muscles will never have the opportunity for normal physiologic reinnervation.